


Valentine's at Golborne

by owls4ever



Category: Finishing School - Gail Carriger
Genre: Canon Divergent - Soap Died, Dresses, F/M, Fluff, POV Sophronia Temminnick, Post-Canon, Presents, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29433582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owls4ever/pseuds/owls4ever
Summary: Felix has a secret planned for Valentine's Day. He won't let Sophronia peek ahead of time (something he knows is almost impossible to guarantee), but he hopes she'll be all the more pleased when she sees it.
Relationships: Felix Mersey/Sophronia Temminnick
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Valentine's at Golborne

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ango_Isqua](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ango_Isqua/gifts).



> Happy Valentine's Day, my love! I wish you many hugs and a wonderful day filled with chocolate!
> 
> To anyone else: Happy valentine's Day!

Sophronia wakes up. It is a lovely day midway through February. The sun is bright outside, and Sophronia stretches happily. She can hear birds flitting and cheeping about beyond her bedroom window. Judging from the sun, she guesses it's around late morning. It's rather odd for her to wake up this late. Even though it's been almost a decade since Mademoiselle Geraldine's met its fiery end and she was pronounced Finished, she still hasn't managed to relax into a normal lady's hours. Felix has been a dear, of course, and he's been working hard to get her to let go of some of her old school habits.

Even more strange is the fact that Sophronia is alone in the bedroom. Usually, Sophronia wakes before Felix. And on the odd occasion the duke wakes before she does, he generally putters quietly about the room or sits up reading. He hasn't quite the interest in new technologies Sophronia does, but he does like to keep abreast of politics and what any of the major players are up to at any moment.

So, Sophronia heads out to find her wayward husband. Normally, if she woke up this late, she'd be the grateful recipient of some wonderfully sweet kisses, maybe a few wandering hands, and soft words. But instead she's met with cold sheets and an empty bedroom.

Sophronia slides on her dressing gown. While she wouldn't mind roaming the halls of the Golborne Estate in her nightgown alone, it tends to shock the maids. Apparently, it does not do to have a duchess wearing nothing more than a nightgown, even in her own home! Her lady's maid, a wonderfully stern woman by the name of Irena, had initially refused to let Sophronia wander in her dressing gown, either. In Irena's eyes, no one should see the duchess in anything less than full attire other than the duke himself. Sophronia can't help but dread the day Irena finds her stash of male clothes for when she decides to sneak about inconspicuously.

When she finally does track Felix down, it is to see him in their breakfast room, happily tucking into his breakfast spread. Sophronia frowns. Felix appreciates his breakfast, yes, but he _always_ waits for her. And he doesn't usually bother to get so dressed up for a simple meal, either. He even has a waistcoat and cravat on!

"Why are you so dressed up?" Sophronia asks curiously, sliding into her own seat and serving herself some porridge. "I woke up and the bed was cold," she adds in an exaggerated pout.

"Ria, my dove, would that I never had to leave your side! But I had an early engagement this morning, or I would have been stuck to your side like an overly affectionate octopus." He grins at her, and she can't resist chuckling slightly.

When he doesn't continue, Sophronia raises her eyebrows and prompts, "Well? What was this desperate engagement that tore you from my side so early in the morning?"

Felix chuckles. "Now, now, Ria. It's a secret. One you aren't to know until tomorrow." He grimaces and adds, "I know saying that is like ringing a dinner bell for a vampire. But please, Ria, I want it to be a surprise."

"They really aren't that bad," Sophronia protests. As much as Felix has committed to dismantling the Picklemen and ending their shadow reign of Britain, he's still much more moderate than Sophronia is. Yes, she leans away from most vampires, especially the hives, but Felix tries to avoid all supernatural creatures. She still hasn't quite broken him of his preconceived notions about the immorality and inhumanity of supernatural creatures.

Felix flaps a hand. It's a discussion and an argument they've had before and will doubtless have again. "Not the point. I just…" he trails off, looking down at his hands as he twists the fingers together nervously. "You know what tomorrow is, right?" he asks suddenly, looking back up at Sophronia.

"The fourteenth of February."

"Which is…?" he prompts.

Sophronia shrugs. "St. Valentine's Day? Why?"

Felix gasps, slapping a hand to his chest in exaggerated dismay. _Good placement_ , Sophronia notes. _Fingertips draw attention to the throat, which he's bared ever so slightly. Altogether looks entirely innocent. Very well done_ , she adds approvingly.

"You've never celebrated Valentine's Day?" he asks, sounding horrified at the possibility.

Sophronia shrugs again, pushing her spoon around her mostly-empty bowl. "Other than Soap, you’ve been my only real beau,” she says finally. “I flirted, clumsily, before Mademoiselle Geraldine’s, but that was about it. And Soap would happily have celebrated Valentine’s, but we weren’t truly together long enough.”

Sophronia can see Felix struggling not to say something. She narrows her eyes at him, silently warning him not to say something derogatory about sooties or domestic help. The man is getting better, but he’s never quite been able to shake his childhood. And being raised in the lap of luxury by an overly conservative father did not help.

“Well, Ria, my love, you do understand the basic tenets of Valentine’s Day, correct?” Felix finally asks, pushing away his own plate.

Sophronia rolls her eyes. “Yes, Felix, we learned history as well as everything else.” She settles back in her chair and starts ticking items off of her fingers. “Let’s see. Chocolates, elaborate paper cards, gifts, and flowers are all traditional, I believe.”

“Yes, that’s what I’ve always done,” Felix agrees.

Sophronia feigns shock. “You’ve celebrated Valentine’s before? What scoundrel have I married? Oh, whatever shall I do?” She presses the back of one hand to her forehead and flutters her lashes a bit, pretending to swoon.

“Oh, come off it, Ria, surely you knew I courted other women?” Felix says. “And anyways, you said you knew the history of Valentine’s Day. What is it? None of my tutors ever bothered telling me.”

“And Bunson’s couldn’t be bothered to focus on a romantic holiday?” Sophronia asks archly before continuing, “It’s fairly standard history. Started as an attempt by the Christian Church to Christianize Lupercalia, a pagan festival of fertility. It got associated with love because of Lupercalia, but also because someone declared mid-February is the beginning of birds' mating seasons. It's supposedly named after a Saint Valentine, who could’ve been any of a half dozen different people. One was a bishop who got beheaded. Another married lovers in secret when marriage was outlawed so young men would go off to war more willingly. Another helped Christians escape the Roman prisons but fell in love with a jailor's daughter and sent her the first valentine. Possibly they’re all the same person, hard to say.”

Felix hums in agreement. He’s been privy to some of her annoyances in tracking down old records and folktales. “Very interesting. And yes, Bunson's was much more interested in teaching us how to create inventions to ruin people's happiness, not promote romantic festivals. But please, Ria, I do have a surprise for you. _Please_ don’t peek until tomorrow.”

Sophronia opens her mouth to argue and he raises a finger. “And don’t peek until I get to see,” he adds thoughtfully. “I’ve seen you at Christmas. You open all the presents before I get down and then rewrap them.”

Sophronia scoffs. “Now you’re being ridiculous. I only open mine. Why would I reopen yours, when I’m the one who wrapped them in the first place?” _Clearly I need to be more subtle about it. Although he has yet to realize I open them days before, so that’s something, at least._

Felix waves a hand. “Please, Ria? Please let me surprise you?”

“Fine,” Sophronia huffs. She’s willing to see where this goes. Usually, Felix just lets her do what she needs to do, even if it means he never gets to surprise her. She always knows what he’s planning for their anniversary weeks in advance, and she always knows who’s coming to visit her before they get down the long driveway. She will be eternally grateful the Golborne castle is set back a ways. It gives her time to spy on all comings and goings, keep tabs on everyone nearby, and have time to prepare for sudden visitors.

\---

The next day, Valentine’s Day, dawns bright and clear. Sophronia, as normal, wakes up before Felix. She slips out of bed and goes through her customary morning routine. Check the corners of the room. Check the windows. Check the door. Check the hallway just outside. None show any signs of being tampered with, and Sophronia allows herself to relax and crawl back to bed.

She isn’t surprised there’s nothing amiss. She just can’t quite kick the habit that something could be. Felix lovingly calls her paranoid on her worst days, but he knows why she can’t help it. She knows why he can’t help but check all of his clothes and food for signs that anything might be out of the ordinary, too. After years of being trained as a spy and assassin and then years of actually _being_ a spy and sometime assassin, Sophronia has made quite a number of enemies. Most would be stupid to attack her here, especially when she's trained all of the Golborne staff in basic espionage methods, but it's always a possibility.

Shortly after Sophronia snuggles back into bed and curls up next to Felix, the man wakes up. “Happy Valentine’s Day,” he murmurs sleepily.

Sophronia gives him a gentle kiss. “Can I see my surprise now?” she murmurs against his lips.

Felix groans and flops back into the bed. “It’s in your boudoir,” he groans. “You’ll know it when you see it.”

"Didn't you want to see my reaction?" Sophronia asks as she rolls towards the edge of the bed.

"No, don't worry about it." Sophronia looks over her shoulder to see Felix grinning smugly. "I just thought that was my best bet at getting you not to peek."

Sophronia makes a face at him before hopping out of bed and into the adjoining room. It’s a fairly small room, with no windows and only one exit, the one back into the bedroom. Sophronia often makes up ideas for what it might have once been. The most legitimate she can come up with is a secret hideyhole, since the door is fairly well hidden. It would be extremely well hidden with a tapestry or something similar over top.

Felix hadn’t even known it was there until Sophronia told him. She’d been snooping about the castle while Felix’s parents were at a ball one night, and had found the hidden room. Given that it had been completely empty at the time, Sophronia doesn’t think the old Duke or Duchess of Golborne knew about it, either.

Inside her boudoir is a vanity, with a chest of drawers and a mirror set above it. The forest green velvet settee is where it always is. However, hanging from her favorite clothes stand is a deep, burgundy ball gown.

Sophronia sticks her head out into the bedroom, where Felix is lying on his back. He cracks one eye open to look up at her. “You got me a _gown_?” she asks.

“There’s more, love. It isn’t _just_ a gown,” he promises, closing his eyes again. He folds his hands over his stomach.

Sophronia huffs quietly and steps back inside. She starts examining the gown critically. It has a fairly low neckline that sweeps in a broad V to a gentle point, presumably between her breasts. The sleeves are off the shoulder and have gentle puffs. The puffs aren’t enough to make the sleeves look stupid, just enough to give it a bit of body and a touch of character. The “sleeves” themselves only travel midway down the upper arm, ending well before the bend of the elbow. The waist draws in enough that Sophronia can tell she’ll need one of her tighter corsets. The gown has a thin piece of white lace along the neckline, as well as a second piece around the hem. 

The skirt seems to be shaped through a combination of petticoats and a lattice-like cage. Strangely, the cage only extends out the back, not to the sides or in front. Sophronia is unfamiliar with the cage technique, but it seems rather effective in shaping the skirt. It isn’t until she starts poking at the skirt itself that she realizes what Felix has hidden. Whoever made this dress also cleverly created hidden pockets along the hips and sides. Where it laces up the sides, Sophronia can see that extra fabric has worked in. All laced up, it is absolutely unobtrusive and almost unnoticeable to the casual observer. Hidden behind the seam the lacing creates is a very deep, rather wide pocket.

Sophronia unlaces the skirt carefully. When she’s almost completely unlaced it, a series of five items tumble out of the skirt and onto the floor. She picks them up one by one to examine them individually.

First to fall is a box of chocolates from her favorite confectioner in London. They make the best concoctions, full of delicate flavor balances and exquisitely decorated. Sophronia only hopes being stashed in a dress’ skirt won’t have ruined the decorations. Although they still promise to be delicious even if they aren't the marvels she would expect, so she can't be too mad. She opens the box to find two dozen delicate chocolate spheres and cubes set in a pretty heart pattern. Felix must have warned the confectioner that they would need to travel, as the decorations are simple but gorgeous. Delicate little swirls, hearts, and even a few artistic cupids are inscribed along the tops of each chocolate. Sophronia pops one in her mouth before turning to the next item.

Second to fall is a bouquet of slightly smushed flowers all in red hues. Red chrysanthemums, red roses, and scarlet sage. The sage is a bit of a brighter red than the other two, and it has spiky spears of blossoms, contrasting nicely with the softer, more circular roses and mums. Sister Mattie and Lady Linette had taught a joint class once on flower language, and Sophronia knows red mums and red roses mean “I love you,” and scarlet sage means “forever mine.” The last might be a tad bit possessive, but Sophronia doesn't really mind. Next time she wears this dress, she'll simply slide one of the sage blossoms into Felix's ensemble and stake her own claim on him.

Third to fall is what looks like a letter, addressed to her in Felix’s handwriting. Sophronia slits it open with the letter opener she keeps about her person at all times, even when sleeping. _Ria, my dove_ , it reads. _Happy Valentine’s Day! I do hope you enjoy my gifts. The dress I got from an old friend of yours. She’s set up a millinery in London, but she agreed to design and make a dress for you when I asked. I do hope you love it, she seemed quite gleeful at the prospect. There’s a ball we’ve been invited to at the beginning of the Season. Perhaps you could wear it then? Madame Lefoux extracted a promise from me that you would show it off as soon as possible. It would seem the skirt has a new design? I’m afraid I am quite unaware of lady’s fashion. Regardless, I do hope you enjoy your Valentine’s Day this year. I love you. Yours forever, Felix._

Sophronia takes a moment to read the letter over a few times. It would seem Vieve has graduated, then! And is successful, as a hatmaker. _I do hope her hats are better than that monstrosity she had me take to her aunt_ , she thinks. The solar system hat had been stunning, but not exactly the height of fashion. _Although_ , Sophronia supposes, _if Vieve has her own millinery in London, she has free reign to critique people’s questionable fashion choices._

The fourth thing to fall from the skirt is a fan. Looking closer, Sophronia can see it is heavier than a normal fan would be, and the ribs are far sturdier. Flicking it open, she admires the way the curved metal tips catch the light. She suppresses a giggle. Her favorite bladed fan gave out only a few weeks ago, when she was forced to use it to saw through a series of ropes. Bladed fans are strong and deadly, but they’re made more to be used as slashing weapons than as saws. The torque had snapped it in two. But now she has a new one. The fan is a deep red, the same color as the dress, with swirling black patterns drawn up the ribs. It even has a small lace cord dangling from the bottom. Sophronia can see a small loop on the skirt's right hip. It would be easy enough to attach the fan to her hip and take it to a ball with her.

The fifth and final item to fall from the skirt’s hidden pocket is a pair of black gloves. They aren’t very long, only coming up just past the wrist, but they clearly go with the dress. Even better, as Sophronia slides them on and experimentally flicks her fingers about, she finds the knuckles are reinforced with some kind of metal. The fabric protects it from chafing her hands, but, if she ever got in a spot of fisticuffs, she’d do much more damage than if she were bare-knuckled. When flicked a certain way, the pointer finger on her right hand also extrudes something that looks like a small, dark thorn. Sophronia makes the mistake of brushing it against her settee, and the fabric instantly blackens and peels away. It would seem the thorn, or whatever it is, is coated in some sort of acid. Sophronia hastily flicks it back and away.

Felix knocks on the door. “So?” he asks. “What do you think?”

Sophronia smiles up at him. “I love them. The dress is amazing, the fan is perfect, the gloves are deadly, the chocolates are delicious, and the bouquet is gorgeous! Thank you, Felix.”

Felix grins, looking extremely pleased with himself. “I’m glad you like it all. I was surprised to run into Gaspar, of all people, and even more surprised when she introduced herself as Genevieve. But she seemed rather excited to design a gown for you.”

“Oh, did you cross paths with her at Bunson’s?” Sophronia asks. She hadn’t quite realized that Vieve going to Bunson’s might mean interacting with all of their friends, as well.

“Yes, sort of.” Felix hesitates, and then explains, “The older classes are given points for showing the younger boys the ropes. But you know how Bunson’s works. Showing them around just means tormenting them.” Sophronia nods. She isn’t exactly surprised. Bunson and Lacroix’s Boys’ Polytechnique was infamous -- in the right circles -- for molding young evil geniuses, just as Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality was notorious for churning out well-developed young ladies, perfect for assassinations or expionage plots.

“Well, I tried to pull one over on Gaspar. I showed him to the roof, dragged him all over the school, locked him in the laboratory, and shoved him in the broom closets. But he seemed perfectly happy wandering about on his own. Even knew how to get free from all the places I left him in. Then one night, he showed up in my room, wanted to know the easiest way out of the school. I told him, and we formed something of an alliance.” Felix shrugs. “I figured he just wanted to be a Piston.”

Sophronia snorts. “She probably wouldn’t have been upset to be a Piston. Would've found it hilarious, that she'd fooled you so well. But no, Vieve went to Bunson’s so she could become part of the Order of the Brass Octopus.”

“But she’s a girl,” Felix points out.

“Yes,” Sophronia nods. “ _Genevieve_ Lefoux is a girl. And a brilliant inventor, just like her aunt. _Gaspar_ Lefoux is not a girl, but is a similarly bright young inventor with talent rivalling that of his long-lost aunt.”

“Huh,” Felix mutters. “Professor Lefoux knew about her niece pretending to be a boy and going to Bunson’s? She could’ve lost everything if people found out!”

“What was she to lose?” Sophronia challenges. “Her place at Mademoiselle Geraldine’s? Bunson’s or the Picklemen couldn't take that. Her standing as an inventor? The OBO wouldn’t let her join, anyway. That’s why she supported Vieve. They took her inventions and her designs, but they never made her more than an honorary member. And even that was only reluctantly.”

Felix nods slowly. “I see. Her shop is amazing, and she has gadgets hidden in a number of the hats." He hums and adds, "I suppose if she's in the Order that's not surprising. And from what I could tell, she's got a secret laboratory under the shop."

“We’ll have to go visit her sometime soon, then,” Sophronia replies. “For now, help me into the gown? I want to try it on.”

“Of course. Happy Valentine’s Day, my love,” Felix says as he comes to help her into the dress.

“Happy Valentine’s Day to you,” Sophronia replies, smiling at him in the mirror. “I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> For an image of the gown I used for inspiration, look up "victorian ball gown tailor of two cities." It'll be the red one that pops up in an image search. I'm not entirely sure how to put pictures in or how to format them correctly, or I would do that instead.


End file.
